Air Pneumatic points questions/help

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Hi, anyone got any experience with Air Pneumatics ?? to switch points. I was just looking to experiment with a 25lt portable air tank & a few air valves/switches & some spring return cylinders. The cylinders i was looking at only take a 4mmOD pipe & wasn't sure what length of pipe i could get away with. IE: one of my points is 28 met away.
What i am hopping is to operate the points with just a singe air line with a spring return cylinder. It will save running electrics as this could be done at a central point with the air valves.
 
I use the SVRR Clippard based system on my line. Available in the UK from Anything Narrow Gauge. The piping they use has a 1.6mm/1/16" inner diameter. Run length of piping does not seem to be restricted. The main thing is the system is kept airtight, so it maintains its nominal pressurisation. With the SVRR system this is 30 psi. I only need a small compressor, with a 2ltr receiver tank (like one to operate a small airbrush) to operate mine. You could even use an old car tyre. Topping up is only required when opening a valve to admit/release air from a connected piston to actuate it, so not much. I even power my signals with this, it is very easy to interconnect various devices so they can work in unison.

I started electric, found that unreliable, went manual, found it tiresome, the went fully pneumatic - total reliability, lots of play value ! Max.
 
Greg Elmassian said:
Try this page, more than you ever wanted to know:

Air Operated Switches

Greg Elmassian web site on large scale trains and garden railroads, cigars, and computers
elmassian.com elmassian.com

I run the 1/8" tubing a couple hundred feet, with local air reservoirs/accumulators ... made inexpensively from drain pipe.

Greg
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Nice one. thanks :)
 
collectors said:
Thanks for the info. The clippard site has some great info as well, although really expensive. Have you looked around AliExpress. Thanks for the link. .
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Hi Chris. No, while I know the name I do not use Alibongo. I'm a bit impatient and the time it would take to deliver anything here, not to mention the risks, have always put me off. Personally I try to avoid reinventing the wheel and go with tried and tested products from known local traders. I have had the SVRR kit for 8 years now (started of when Steve at Back2bay6 handled them). Big advantage of the components supplied is they are made to last outdoors, even in our wet climate.

And they can be adapted to use with other bits of your line's infrastructure -

20210808_132201.jpg20210808_132736.jpg
 
collectors said:
Thanks for the info. The clippard site has some great info as well, although really expensive. Have you looked around AliExpress. Thanks for the link. .
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Well, you cannot go cheap on the air cylinders themselves, or they will go bad right away. You cannot go cheap there.

Likewise the air solenoids, but I have bought my solenoids on ebay for $27 and less... if you read my site you see I use 24v solenoids and run from track power.

The DCC decoders are cheap.

We print the housings for the switches.

So the only expensive parts are the air cylinders and the solenoids... and there is no cheap part that will last. Much of my stuff is almost 20 years old and working fine.

Now if you wanted to try printing your own cylinders you might save $$ but you would have wear and leaks, you need precision air tight parts. You'd be replacing parts all the time. Not worth it.

Greg
 
collectors said:
Thanks for the info. The clippard site has some great info as well, although really expensive. Have you looked around AliExpress. Thanks for the link. .
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Funny thing is I have a few bits of Air stuff that looks very like the Aliexprss stuff particularly with the blue joiners. I have used sundry makes over the years all with the same spec that maxi-model maxi-model talks about. In fact he came to visit a friends line some years back to see the Air in operation and was clearly impressed enough to invest.

I have a pretty extensive line and exclusively use Air for Points and Signals in places using a form of interlocking which is possible with thought. I cannot praise it enough, but and a bit of a but the Aliexpress if the same as I have looks rather large and the larger pipe will be trickier to blend into your line. I use Electric Trunking of a pretty small size to loose the Air pipes in a prototypical way, but yes it is not cheep but well lasting and so much easier to set up. Distance is not an issue with long lengths of pipe even if you have to join it.

If you look at my line build linked below you will find odd posts about my air set up.

I see you are in Norfolk, if you ever get St.Neots Cambs way you are more than welcome to view my setup.
 
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